Most New Orelans City Park attractions restored

New Orleans CityBusiness, Aug 27, 2007 by Reports

More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, City Park is still recovering from $43 million in damages created mostly by the hurricane's floodwaters.

Most of the park's attractions have reopened, with the exception of its three golf courses.

Park officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded $10 million for its recovery and they expect as much as $25 million from FEMA in the next two to five years.

"I would hope that most of the Katrina repairs are done within the next three to four years. A lot of them have already been done," said John Hopper, the park's chief development office.

"We keep actively fundraising," he said.

During the past two years, the park has raised $20 million for Katrina-related park repairs and another $10 million for a master plan that calls for upgrades to be built by 2018. The master plan pre-dates Katrina.

Before the storm, the park had 260 employees, including full- time, part-time and seasonal workers. After the storm, all but 23 were laid off because of the park's inability to pay them. Today, the park employs 46 full-time employees, but that is budgeted to grow to 64.